


Threads Coming Lose(Tighten The Weave)

by Cornflower_Blue



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Campaign: Balance (The Adventure Zone), Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotional/Psychological Abuse, Found Family, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, POV Multiple, Post-Episode: e067-069 Story and Song Parts 1-3, TAZ Candlenights Exchange 2020, Tags May Change, The Seven Birds as Found Family, The Seven birds - Freeform, Unreliable Narrator
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-10
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 19:48:10
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,056
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28676202
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cornflower_Blue/pseuds/Cornflower_Blue
Summary: Angus McDonald was the world's greatest detective, and he was not being braggy about it. It was just a fact.But as Taako pulls his hand from Angus’ curls, leaving them slightly ruffled, he does not feel like the world’s greatest detective. Not even a little bit.Angus should have seen the signs, they are obvious enough looking back on them. Any detective worth their salt would have picked up on them. Angus cannot believe he was so blind to what was right in front of him for so long.
Relationships: Angus McDonald & Everyone, Angus McDonald & Taako, Kravitz & Angus McDonald, Kravitz/Taako (The Adventure Zone)
Comments: 26
Kudos: 73
Collections: The Candlenights Zone (2020 Exchange)





	1. Chapter 1

Angus McDonald was the world's greatest detective, and he was not being braggy about it. It was just a fact.

He had managed to solve enough cases by the time he was ten, that he was being regularly sought after for his deductive reasoning. He was the only person to ever discover the Bureau of Balance through the investigation of the memory blanks they would leave behind. And he was the only Seeker in the Bureau who could say they had found two of the Relics and then uncovered the fact that the Relics were not being destroyed. No other detective in the world had the same credits to their name that Angus did.

So he had no shame in saying that he was the world's greatest detective.

But as Taako pulls his hand from Angus’ curls, leaving them slightly ruffled, he does not feel like the world’s greatest detective. Not even a little bit.

“You’re heading over to Magnus’ place after this for the weekend, right?” Taako asks, as he resettles his wizard’s hat back on his head at its proper jaunty angle.

Angus should have seen the signs, they are obvious enough looking back on them. Any detective worth their salt would have picked up on them. Angus cannot believe he was so blind to what was right in front of him for so long.

“Ango?” Taako leans down into Angus’ space, concern glinting in his eyes. “You doin’ okay Pumpkin?”

“Ah! Yes Sir!” Angus says without really knowing what he is agreeing to, as he snaps back to the current moment. He plasters a smile on his face even though it feels brittle and false. And for a moment he thinks Taako might realize his expression is fake as some unreadable expression crosses the elf’s face before he studies Angus’ face.

But then Taako pulls back and turns away as he asks, “Is Magnus coming over to pick you up or am I dropping you off there?” And Angus feels his heart shatter inside his chest because if nothing else, this proves that he has been naïve all along, unwilling to see the clues for what they were.

Taako is not Angus’ family. Taako is not Angus’ dad, Kravitz is not Angus’ dad. Angus would have to be stupid if he tries to keep on believing something that is so obviously false. And Angus is many things, but he is not stupid.

“Uhh, he’s going to pick me up,” Angus says as he remembers the plans he made with Magnus this weekend, before he started connecting the dots.

Magnus had told him he wanted Angus to come over to help train the new litter of puppies he had just gotten in. But what if that had been a lie? Magnus was Taako’s family, it would make sense that Taako would complain to Magnus that Angus had been clinging to the elf too much. And it would make sense that Magnus would volunteer to take Angus for a while so that Taako would not have to deal with him.

“Do you want me to wait with you?” Taako asks. He is not even looking at Angus, he just wants to be sure Angus will actually go.

“No Sir, thank you,” Angus says. He should not be so torn up about this, really. Taako has his family and Angus has his. He should not be looking for another one, certainly not when the family he wants to be a part of is the Seven Birds.

“Alright. Kravitz told me he thinks he might have a lead on the necromancers he’s been tracking, so it’ll be just me coming to pick you up,” Taako says as he starts walking out of the room they are practicing in, Angus following him on instinct.

Several minutes of silence pass between them as they make their way out of the building before Taako asks, “Are you sure you’re doing okay Ango?”

And Angus wants so badly to tell him no, to tell Taako everything and be reassured that he is part of Taako’s family. But he knows that begging will get him nowhere, and will only serve to alienate him from Taako and Kravits and the people he wants to be closest too.

“Yes Sir! I’m fine! Thank you for checking!” Angus says instead. Taako gives him a tight smile and Angus calls himself a fool twelve times over. He cannot believe he missed all the signs when they are written all over Taako’s face. And he is sure that none of the other birds will have hidden their irritation with him half as well as Taako does, Angus just was not paying attention.

“Alright, well, I’ll see you after the weekend then.” Taako steps away from the building and away from Angus, throwing over his shoulder as he leaves, “We can make elderberry macaroons!”

And then Taako is gone and Angus feels his insides crumple in on themselves, no longer being supported by his need to keep his feelings contained, to be as agreeable as he can be for Taako. For a moment, Angus allows himself to wallow, to call himself every name in the book and feel it as the aching sadness inside him overflows in his body. The tears that leak from the corners of his eyes are quickly brushed away with the heels of his palms as soon as they form only for more to take their place.

He allows himself to sit there and cry until his strangled sniffles have turned to muffled hiccups. Then he pulls himself together and gets out his Stone of Farspeech and calls Magnus.

“Hey Angus! You ready for this weekend?” Magnus asks as soon as he picks up.

“Ahhh, actually I’m not going to be able to make it this weekend,” Angus says. The words hurt as he forms them, but he knows it is better to start separating from the Birds now, so that they do not have to when they finally get tired of Angus’ hanging around. 

“Oh, did Taako decide to keep you?” Magnus asks. And even though Angus has already established that Taako asked Magnus to take him so that Taako could be free of him for a bit, the surprise in Magnus’ voice still cuts him to the quick.

“Ahh, actually Ms. Lucretia asked me to work on an investigation for her, so I'll be busy with that.” The lie comes to mind quickly as Angus speaks and hopes that Magnus will not investigate his claim further.

“Are you sure it can’t wait?” Magnus asks. He sounds disappointed, but Angus figures it is probably just cause he does not want to let Taako down.

“No, I have to go right away, I’m very sorry Sir.”

“Oh, okay. Well let me know when you’re free again and we’ll reschedule.”

Angus smiles even though he knows Magnus cannot see him because he heard once that people can hear smiles in your voice and then lies right through his teeth, “Of course Sir!”

Magnus hangs up and Angus lets out all the air in his lungs with one breath.

While he is still technically employed by Ms. Lucretia, she has not called on his services since The Hunger. At first he thought it was just because she did not have anything for Angus to do, or that maybe she was giving Angus time to settle in with Taako and Kravitz. But now he has a sneaking suspicion that she had been happy to be rid of him.

Realistically, he has bought himself a few days before anyone realizes he is not where he told them he would be, maybe a few days more for them to start to look for him out of a sense of obligation, if only to make sure he has not gotten himself into more trouble than he knows what to do with. So he needs to make sure he is making the best of the time that he has.

Grandfather might not have noticed he has not been back to the estate since Ms. Lucretia hired him on at the Bureau, might not have even noticed that Angus had been sneaking off the property for years before that. And even if he has it should not be too much work to convince the elderly man to let him back into the house. Even so, that should be the thing he sorts out first, as long as he knows where he is living, he can sort everything else out after.

So he activates his Rune of Farspeech again and calls for a Fantasy Taxicab to take him to his grandfather's estate. And if the driver gives him a weird look when they pick him up because he does not have anything on him except for what he has on his person, Angus does not care. He just needs to be taken away from here.

The driver tries to talk to him several times throughout the journey, but Angus ignores every conversation thread until the driver finally stops trying to talk to him and lets him be. For hours and hours he watches as the scenery slides by his window until the outside starts filling in with his hazy memories of childhood.

“Are you sure this is where I’m dropping you off?” The driver asks as he pulls up on the wrought iron gate that leads to the McDonald family estate.

“Yes Sir,” Angus mumbles, just loud enough for the driver to hear him. Angus watches as the driver shrugs his shoulders through the partition, but they seem happy enough to drive away after he pays them.

Angus stares up at the gate, his stomach twisting uncomfortably at the memories that struggle to the surface at the sight of it. He fought for years to escape from this gate, to leave it behind him. And now he is back here and it is like he never left at all.

With a quick spell, Angus unlocks the gate and slips inside. The gate clangs shut behind him with an echoing ring and he feels something inside him wither up at the sound. He is trapped again, and this time, it is of his own volition.

“Hello again Angus, been a while since I last saw you,” the housekeeper says as soon as Angus walks in through the front door.

“Hey Ms. Franny,” Angus says, shoulders sagging, feeling caught out even though he knows he has done nothing wrong.

“Mr. McDonald was asking about you the other day.” Ms. Franny says, giving Angus a significant look as his stomach swoops, “I told him you were out on a case and would be back soon. Glad to see I was right.”

“Do you think he’ll be expecting me?” Angus asks, shifting in place. Suddenly he can feel every speck of dirt on the clothes that feel two sizes too big.

“You might have time to change before you see him,” Ms. Franny says. Angus whispers a quiet thank you before he scampers off.

He dresses like he does because it means people will underestimate him, will glance right over him and never give him a second look until it is too late. But Grandfather hates it and never fails to bring it up anytime he catches Angus dressed in his schoolboy clothes. The staff try to help him when they can, but sometimes collisions are unavoidable.

“Angus, I see you’ve finally decided to grace us with your presence,” his Grandfather says from behind him. Angus jumps nearly a foot in the air at the sound of his voice, then turns to face the man.

“Hello Sir,” Angus says, his eyes focusing on the gold and emerald pin in his Grandfather’s tie.

“Angus, I expect you to look at me when I’m talking to you,” Grandfather says.

“Yes Sir, sorry Sir.” Angus immediately corrects his gaze so that he is looking Grandfather in the eyes.

“Where have you been for so long Angus?”

“I was out working a case Grandfather-”

“I know I didn’t sign off on any cases after you lost my silverware at Rockport, so maybe you want to try again.”

Angus can feel his stomach twisting into knots as he realizes his Grandfather has known he has been gone for longer than a case should take, might have even known the moment Angus stepped off his property.

“Thought so.” Grandfather says and Angus feels his face heat as acid churns in the pit of his stomach, “You want to explain how you ended back up here without the pass to let you back in?”

He knows better than to try and say anything, to offer up excuses. Instead, he produces his wand, the wand that Taako first gave him when they first started their magic lessons on the moon base, and hands it over to Grandfather.

Grandfather inspects the wand and lets out a snort of derision, We will be having a talk about this Angus.”   


“Of course Sir,” Angus agrees.

And then Grandfather takes Angus’ wand in between his hands and snaps it in half.

There is a spurt of colorful sparks that emerge from the breaking point, nothing like Ms. Lup’s colorful display from the Umbrastaff. And then the magic is gone from the wand, as if it had never been there in the first place.

“I’ll see you at dinner Angus. If you want to stay in this house I expect you to respect and obey my rules, not flagrantly disregard them at your will. And for Pan’s sake, change out of that ridiculous outfit,” Grandfather says and then he turns on his heel and disappears down a hallway and Angus is alone again.

For a minute or so, he just stands there, reminding himself how to breath past a lump of tears in his throat, heat burning in his eyes with each ragged breath he drags into his lungs. Just staring at the spot in the air where his wand fizzled out.

It had been a gift, one of the few things Taako has ever given to him, one of the few things that Angus could hold onto and know that Taako cared about him, if only as a student. And now it is gone. Destroyed with a quick shift of a wrist.

Somehow this always ends up happening whenever he is around Grandfather. It always takes him by surprise, but he always ends up feeling two inches tall. It just does not normally take so little time for it to happen.

For a moment, Angus entertains the idea that he can turn around, that he can go back and beg for Taako and Kravitz to take him back, to prove to them that he can earn their love somehow. But they are not his dads, and he cannot make them want to be his family. He does not belong with them in their home. This is his home, this is where he belongs.


	2. Chapter 2

Taako can feel the hurt building up inside him as he walks away from Angus. It is almost surprising how much he is hurting right now. But well, Angus had lied to him.

He was not exactly sure why Angus had felt the need to lie to him about how he was feeling, but he had and it  _ hurt _ . And then to top it all off, Angus had called him ‘Sir’. Twice. He had not done that since before he had moved in with Taako and Kravitz, since before Taako and Kravitz had started talking about officially adopting Angus.

The boy had not even looked at Taako as he had started walking away, not really. Instead Angus’ gaze had been just over his shoulder as Taako had desperately held out hope that Angus would at least perform his now customary hug goodbye. But he had not. He had just stared over Taako’s shoulder as he plastered on a false smile that had felt hauntingly familiar.

And maybe Taako could get answers to why Angus is lying to him and why he is calling him Sir again and refusing to look at him if he pushes the boy hard enough. Maybe he can force Angus to tell him what caused this sudden regression in their relationship. But Angus is family, and Taako does not want to drive him away.

He does not want Angus to leave him.

So he is walking away even though everything in him wants to turn back around and figure out what is going on with Angus. He keeps walking, shoulders back, spine straight, stride even. Everything he can possibly do so as to not give away to Angus that Taako is hurting. To keep it all locked up tight in his chest.

He keeps walking until he is sure he is out of sight from Angus and will remain out of sight when Magnus comes to pick him up for their weekend. And then as soon as he is sure he is well and truly hidden from sight, Taako sags into a sigh, his chest rattling with the feeling as tears threaten to spill.

A few more shaky breaths follow the first. But Taako does not allow more than that before he pulls himself back together, sewing all his jagged pieces back from the inside with several steadying breaths until he feels less like he is about to shake apart at the seams and more like himself again.

So Angus told a lie or two to Taako, so he emotionally distanced himself from Taako. Taako is pretty sure it is typical for kids to rebel against their family at some point in their lives. Maybe Angus has just decided he wants to start that process today.

At least Angus will be with Magnus all weekend. Maybe he will work through all his rebellious feelings while training dogs and come home all rebelled out.

Taako squares his shoulders and straightens out his spine. He is sure this whole situation will work itself out in Taako’s favor. Things normally do.

And if they do not.

If they do not, well, Taako has experience with people who are supposed to be family hurting him, leaving him behind. He knows how to handle it.And at least this time he will have more than Lup there to fall back on.

Taako takes one more deep breath, centering himself. And then he walks the rest of the way home with a swagger in his steps, doing his best to project confidence even while his brain picks apart his magic session with Angus again and again, trying to spot the exact moment Angus’ behavior towards him changed. Trying to figure out what he did so that he knows what to avoid doing again.

He cannot think of a specific thing he has not done a thousand times before in all their time together. But Taako knows there must be something, so he keeps trying. For Angus he will keep trying.

Then, as he is letting himself back into his home, his Stone of Farspeech trills, letting him know he has an incoming call.

For a breathless moment he thinks it might be Angus, thinks that maybe the boy is calling him to apologize for his weird behavior and explain it all away. Maybe he is calling to say that he did not want to spend the weekend at Magnus' and wanted to come home. Maybe he is calling to ask Taako to stay with them for the weekend and make them food.

Maybe, a part of Taako’s mind whispers, he is calling to say he is moving out and never wants to see Taako again. Maybe he is calling to say he has met a newer, better magic teacher, one he will not outgrow so quickly.

Taako does his best to stomp that whisper into the ground.

But when he finally manages to wrangle his Stone from his pocket, it is not Angus’ name he sees flash across it. It is Magnus’. And while Taako loves Magnus and considers the man family, he really does not want to listen to him gush about how much fun he and Angus are already having and all their plans for the weekend. He does not want to hear about how normal Angus is being with him.

Taako does not want to hear about how much happier Angus is away from him.

He shoves his Stone back into his pocket and then shucks his outer layer and throws it to the side. Kravitz will pester him gently about it later over dinner and Taako will make some quip back and Kravitz will roll his eyes and their night will move on. But for right now, he just needs his Stone to be as far away and as out of sight as possible.

He needs the message Magnus will surely leave on his stone as far away and as out of sight as possible, so that it no longer has the ability to hurt him.

Taako circles the house a few times, the restless energy he can feel just under his skin keeping him moving from place to place, from activity to activity without settling on or finishing anything. And then, without really thinking about it, Taako finds himself in the kitchen.

Even without Lup in the kitchen next to him, Taako knows the steps to the dance he is performing, had had enough practice doing it without his twin or a partner to know how to modify it to fit his needs. And this kitchen is familiar enough to him that he knows where each bowl and utensil and ingredient is and he pulls them all out in a rush of movement. 

He is halfway through making the dish, the pasta is boiling in the pot and the chicken is in the oven when Taako realizes that the meal he is making is Angus’ comfort meal. And Angus is not here in need of comfort. He will not be here all weekend. And probably will not be seeking comfort from Taako even when he does come home.

Taako shuts off the stove and pulls the chicken from the oven before abandoning the whole meal and storming up to the room he shares with Kravitz. As he moves away from the kitchen, his heart lodges in his throat and he fights to keep his tears locked up tight in his chest where they might hurt him, but at least no one will be able to tell.

He wraps himself up in the comforter and lays down on their bed, allowing the weight of the blanket to sooth the hurt buried deep inside him. A part of him wishes for Lup to be here, to curl her body around his in a protective layer, to reassure him that everything would work out in the end, and to remind him that no matter what, she would always be right there. A part of him wants Kravitz here to hold him tight and offer reassurances that he is loved no matter what.

A part of him wants Angus to burst through the door and throw himself at Taako, apologizing as he goes.

But none of that happens, no matter how much he wishes for it. There is no one here right now. Taako is all alone and the silence that surrounds him is oppressive in its weight, crushing him down smaller and smaller. Reminding him with every second that there is no one else there.

That is how Kravitz finds him several hours later, long after the sun has set. Taako hears the door open and knows exactly who it is walking in as he curls up tighter on himself.

“What happened?” Kravitz asks, his voice soft as he shuts the door softly behind him.

“Nothing.” Taako says into his pillow as he hears Kravitz slowly make his way across the room to where Taako is laying down, “Nothing happened.”

“Taako, you haven’t answered your Stone of Farspeech all night and you left the meal you were making all over the kitchen, half done.” Kravitz sits down on the bed next to Taako. Taako’s whole body curves towards Kravitz as he sits down and rests his hand on the top of Taako’s blanketed form.

Taako loves Kravitz, but he also hates how much the other man knows him so well and will not allow him to hide away in this moment and sulk. Hates that he is scared by the potential of Kravitz’s reaction to something that in the long run is so trivial, scared that Kravitz will brush him off.

“Angus lied to me today,” Taako says after a moment.

“Are you sure?” Kravitz asks, surprise coloring his voice. And that alone let’s something in Taako unclench, lets him take one of his first truly steady breaths since he left Angus earlier.

Taako nods into his pillow, miserable, but feeling more secure in his misery than he had before, more willing to let it play across his face. And then, after a moment of silence he continues, “He called me Sir.”

Kravitz lets out a hiss of air and Taako curls up tighter around him, the hurt inside him building at the reminder that the words bring. The reminder of those heartbeats after the title had left Angus’ mouth.

“He’s with Magnus this weekend, right?” Taako just nods again, not trusting himself to speak at the moment as Kravitz runs his hand down the blanket in a comforting sweep. “Alright then, after he gets back from Magnus’ we’ll talk with him about it and figure out why.”

“What if he doesn’t come back from Magnus’? What if he doesn’t want to come back?” Taako asks after a moment of silence, his voice wobbling in a way it only does around his family with each question.

“He’ll come back Taako, this is his home,” Kravitz says, leaning over to place a light kiss on the comforter surrounding Taako’s head.

“And if he doesn’t come back right away, we’ll hold his Caleb Cleveland collection hostage until he does.” That gets Taako to give a watery chuckle as Kravitz stands up. Taako catches the tail end of Kravitz’s smile as the other man stands up. Taako gives him his best approximation of a smile he can manage for the moment before Kravitz leaves the room.

Taako can hear him puttering around downstairs, probably putting away the things Taako had left out. Taako lets himself draw comfort from the sounds, of knowing that there is someone nearby who cares about him, who will not abandon him at the slightest hint of danger or conflict.

After a few minutes, Kravitz reappears, Taako’s discarded overcoat folded over his arm and two plates of a simple dinner in his hands.

“Have I told you recently how much I love you?” Taako asks as he sits up to receive the plate, the comforter falling away from his head and shoulders to pool around his lap as he takes the plate from Kravitz. His overcoat is placed on the bed in front of him. He ignores it for now, but he knows Kravitz brought it up with him for a reason.

“I could stand to hear it a few more times today,” Kravitz says. Taako reaches over and gives him a light shove as Kravitz sits down on the other side of the bed, teasing smirk firmly in place.

They eat dinner in relative silence, but it is not like the silence from before when Taako was all alone. And once they are finished, they sit there for a while, doing nothing except enjoying each other’s company.

All too soon though, Kravitz is sitting up and announcing, “I must go back to my search, Barry and I think we might have narrowed down the locations the necromancers could be using and the only reason I was able to get away this long is because your sister threatened me if I didn’t come check up on you.”

“Tell her thank you for me,” Taako says. He can already feel the dark thoughts from earlier creeping back up, clinging to his skin with spiderweb thin strands. But he knows that Kravitz needs to go. And the memory of his family being so concerned about him after only a few hours will help, he knows they will.

“Of course I will,” Kravitz says, leaning over and planting a quick kiss on Taako’s forehead. Then he is out the door, preparing to go back to Barry and Lup and the Raven Queen.

Taako lets out a little sigh as his attention travels to the overcoat laying across the bed. He knows Kravitz brought it up here for Taako to listen to the messages he is sure will be on it. He is also sure that Kravitz has no idea Magnus left him a message.

But well, Taako will have to listen to it eventually so he might as well get it over with. At least he will have the other messages from his family to look forward to afterwards.

Taako collects his coat and fishes out his Stone of Farspeech from the pocket he had shoved it into earlier.

With a few quick motions, Magnus’ voice fills the room as his message begins to play, “Uhhh, hey Taako, it’s Magnus. I’m sure you already know but I just, I guess Angus was acting a little off earlier when he said Lucretia had a job for him and had to cancel our weekend and I just wanted to make sure he was like, okay? Sorry if you’ve already got the situation covered, I just wanted to make sure he was okay. Let me know when he’s free to come over! I’m sure it will be fun! See you!”

The silence that follows is deafening as Taako’s stomach swoops uncomfortably. Angus had canceled on Magnus. Angus had canceled on Magnus to take a job from Lucretia even though she had promised to let Angus settle down before she offered him another job.

Angus had canceled on Magnus and Taako has no idea where his kid is.

Between one breath and the next, Taako flies up out of bed, his Stone clutched tightly in his hands as he shouts for Kraviz.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello hello again everyone!!! I honestly did not expect this chapter to take me as long as it did to write! But i'll be honest, this is my first time writing a romantic relationship. I hope it wasn't too obvious, but I definitly wrote some scenes and then rewrote and then reworte them again! Hopefully the next chapter won;t take as long to get out, but I've learned to not predict my writing muse! lol! Next chapter we'll be going back to Angus! So hopefully that will be fun!!!
> 
> Finally! If you leave me a comment I promise I'll adore if for forever and forever! Or! You can come yell at me on Tumblr [here](https://cornflowerbluewrites.tumblr.com/)!!!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello hello everyone!!! This was written for @splendiferous-soup on tumblr for the Candlenights Exchange!!! I really hope you enjoy this first chapter and I promise the found family aspect will come in eventually!!! Originally I was gonna keep this kinda short and sweet, but then the lot got away from me, and now it's being broken up into chapters for manageability! And also so I can play with other POVs!!!! Next chapter we'll be getting a Taako POV!!!
> 
> Finally! If you leave me a comment I promise I'll adore if for forever and forever! Or! You can come yell at me on Tumblr [here](https://cornflowerbluewrites.tumblr.com/)!!!


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